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Tacitus · Historiae II

Histories 2.30

Valens detaches the Batavians

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Hist. 2.30.1Igitur nūntiō adlātō pulsam Trēvirōrum alam Tungrōsque ā classe Othōnis et Narbōnēnsem Galliam circumīrī, simul cūrā sociōs tuendī et mīlitārī astū cohortīs turbidās ac, sī ūnā forent, praevalidās dispergendī, partem Batāvōrum īre in subsidium iubet.So when news was brought that the squadron of the Treviri and the Tungri had been routed by Otho's fleet and that Narbonese Gaul was being encircled, out of concern to protect the allies and at the same time by a soldier's cunning to break up cohorts that were unruly and, if together, too strong, he orders part of the Batavians to go to their aid. Hist. 2.30.1Quod ubi audītum vulgātumque, maerēre sociī, fremere legiōnēs.When this was heard and spread about, the allies grieved and the legions murmured. Hist. 2.30.1Orbārī sē fortissimōrum virōrum auxiliō;They were being robbed, they said, of the help of the bravest men; Hist. 2.30.1veterēs illōs et tot bellōrum victōrēs, postquam in cōnspectū sit hostis, velut ex aciē abdūcī.those veterans, victors in so many wars, were being led away, as it were from the very battle line, now that the enemy was in sight.

Hist. 2.30.1Sī prōvincia urbe et salūte imperiī potior sit, omnēs illūc sequerentur;If a province was more important than Rome and the safety of the empire, let them all follow there; Hist. 2.30.1sīn victōriae columen in Ītaliā verterētur, nōn abrumpendōs ut corporī validissimōs artūs.but if the mainstay of victory turned on Italy, those men should not be torn away, like the strongest limbs from a body.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (71 words)
igitur, conj.therefore
nūntius, -ī, m.messenger; message
adferō, adferre, attulī, adlātusbear to, bring
pellō, pellere, pepulī, pulsusdrive, drive away, beat, rout
ala, -ae, f.wing
que, enclitic conj.and
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
classis, -is f.fleet
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
Narbōnēnsis, -eof Narbo; Gallia Narbonensis, the province of southern Gaul
circumeō, -īre, -iī, -itumgo around
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
cūra, -ae f.care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
socius, -ī, m.companion, comrade, ally
tueor, -ērī, tuitus sumwatch over, protect, defend
mīlitāris, -emilitary, warlike; rēs mīlitāris, art of war, warfare
astus, -ūs m.cunning, craft, trick; (abl.) astū: cleverly, by cunning
cohors, cohortis f.cohort (a tenth of a legion); company
turbidus, -a, -umstormy, wild, confused
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
sī, conj.if
ūnātogether, along
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
praevalidus, -a, -umvery strong, powerful; too vigorous, rank
dispergō, -ere, -spersī, -spersumscatter
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
eō, īre, iī, itusgo
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
subsidium, -ī, n.reserve, reinforcement, support, help
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
ubi, adv.where; conj., when
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
vulgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake common, spread abroad; (corpus) prostitute
maereō, -ēregrieve, be sad
fremō, -ere, -uī, -itumroar, growl; grumble (in + acc.: at)
legiō, -ōnis f.legion
orbō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusbereave, deprive (of)
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
fortis, -ebrave
vir, virī, m.man
auxilium, -ī, n.help, aid
vetus, veterisold, former
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
tot (indecl.)so many
bellum, -ī, n.war
victor, -ōris m.conqueror, victor
postquam, conj.later than, after, when
cōnspectus, -ūs, m.sight
hostis, -is, m. and f.enemy, foe
veluteven or just as, as
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
aciēs, -ēī, f.line of battle
abdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead or take away
prōvincia, -ae f.province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
urbs, urbis, f.city
salūs, salūtis, f.safety, deliverance, escape
imperium, -ī, n.command; sway, rule
potior, -ius (comp. adj.)better, preferable, more powerful
omnis, -eall, every
illūc (adv.)to that place, there
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
sīn (conj.)but if
victōria, -ae, f.victory
vertō, vertere, vertī, versusturn
nōn, adv.not
abrumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptusbreak off, cut short
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
corpus, corporis, n.body
validus, -a, -umstrong
artūs, -uum m. pl.joints; limbs, body
Tacitus, Historiae II. Latin text: C. D. Fisher, Cornelii Taciti Historiarum Libri (Oxford, 1911), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.